State Police to set up pre-Thanksgiving sobriety checkpoint at Jersey Shore

TRENTON — State Police said they will be running a sobriety checkpoint in Monmouth County the night before Thanksgiving.

Traditionally a night out before a long holiday weekend, checkpoints will be set up in the area of Bellmar and Neptune Township on Wednesday night. An exact location was not given.

In a statement, Trooper Lawrence Peale said the checkpoints are about safer roads, and not a cash grab.

"The goal of the DWI checkpoint is to hopefully deter people from getting behind the wheel after drinking, which is why we announce them in advance. If you plan on drinking during the holiday weekend, have a designated driver, use a transportation application like Uber or Lyft, or just stay put," Peale said.

Police will also be looking for signs of impairment from drugs or alcohol.

During the last sobriety checkpoint in July, before a Toby Keith concert at the PNC Bank Arts Center along the Garden State Parkway in Holmdel,  Peale said 333 stops were made and six were arrested on DWI charges. Four arrests were made after a July 2015 checkpoint at the Arts Center with 369 contacts.

Peale explained that there is a set interval to check cars, "whether it be every second, third, fourth or fifth car" at a checkpoint.

If you see a driver you believe is posing a hazard because of poor driving behaviors, police said to call the aggressive driver tip line by dialing #77. They ask that you be able to give a description of the vehicle and occupants, a location and direction, and a license plate if possible.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1990 ruled that “the interest in reducing alcohol-impaired driving was sufficient to justify the brief intrusion of a sobriety checkpoint. If conducted properly, sobriety checkpoints do not constitute illegal search and seizure in most states,” the state Attorney General’s website notes.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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